The three numbers that matter
Three acquisition thresholds shape how quickly an office can buy SI work. The first two were raised effective October 1, 2025.
| Threshold | Amount | What it means for an SI purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-purchase threshold | $15,000 | Generally payable by government purchase card with minimal procurement process. The right size for a fixed-scope diagnostic. |
| Simplified acquisition threshold | $350,000 | Simplified procedures for larger buys: room for a diagnostic, a production build and a year of managed operations. |
| SDVOSB sole-source ceiling | $5M, including options | For non-manufacturing NAICS, a contracting officer can award directly to an SBA-certified SDVOSB when the conditions in FAR 19.1406 are met. |
Sources: FAR 2.101 as amended by 90 FR 41872 (effective October 1, 2025) and FAR 19.1406. Agencies add their own rules, and thresholds change. Confirm with your contracting officer and your purchase card policy before buying.
What fits under $15,000
The right first purchase is a diagnostic, not a build. A build needs integrations, testing and handoff that rarely fit under the micro-purchase threshold. A diagnostic does fit, and it produces what you need to justify the next step: a measured baseline and a fixed price.
Ask for named deliverables, not hours:
- A measured baseline of the current process: time, volume, error and rework.
- Root causes, each backed by evidence from your own cases.
- A prioritized plan: what to automate, what to fix in the process, what to leave alone.
- Acceptance criteria written from your cases, so any future build has a test to pass.
- A fixed-price quote for the build, so the next purchase can be planned and justified.
Avoid three common traps: open-ended “SI strategy” studies with no workflow attached, tool licenses nobody has tested on your cases, and pilots with no acceptance criteria. Each spends the budget without producing evidence.
How to scope it so it holds up
- Name one workflow and the person who owns it.
- Pick 25–50 representative cases, including the messy ones that cause rework.
- State the data boundary: what may be shared, in what form, and where it may be processed.
- List the deliverables above and a delivery date. Ten business days is enough for one workflow.
- Require a fixed price, agreed in writing before work starts.
- Make the acceptance criteria a deliverable, so the build that follows is tested against your cases.
When SDVOSB sole-source applies
Once the diagnostic proves the case, the build and ongoing operations usually exceed $15,000. If the vendor is an SBA-certified service-disabled veteran-owned small business, FAR 19.1406 lets a contracting officer award sole-source in defined circumstances.
The conditions include a determination that two or more SDVOSBs are not reasonably expected to compete for the requirement, an award that can be made at a fair and reasonable price, a responsible contractor, and an anticipated value, including options, at or under the threshold: $5M for non-manufacturing NAICS. The business must hold SBA certification through VetCert.
Your contracting officer makes these determinations. Bring them the diagnostic’s findings and fixed-price quote; they are the evidence a fair-and-reasonable determination needs.
If you already buy through a prime
Many offices buy through primes on existing vehicles. A certified SDVOSB subcontractor can add specialist SI capability and SDVOSB participation to a prime’s workstream without a new contract. Ask your prime whether a defined SI workstream or a short capture prototype can be added under the current vehicle.
A scope you can adapt
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Objective | Measure the invoice-review workflow and define a fixed-price build. |
| Workflow and owner | Accounts payable invoice review; AP supervisor. |
| Cases | 50 invoices from the last quarter, including 15 with known exceptions. |
| Data boundary | Unclassified copies shared in the agency’s approved environment. |
| Deliverables | Baseline, findings, prioritized plan, acceptance criteria, fixed-price build quote. |
| Timeline | 10 business days from kickoff. |
| Price | Fixed, at or under $15,000. |